NUTRITIONAL NOTES Brought to you by Triple Crown Nutrition, The Official Feed Sponsor of USPC
Feeding Recommendations for Metabolic Conditions By Jessica Drexler Your horse has been diagnosed with a metabolic condition, and now you are looking for ways to better manage his health. You may need to adjust your feed program to ensure your horse is getting not only the right amount of feed to maintain their weight, but all the essential nutrients as well. Let’s take a look at some conditions and the feed and management recommendations for those conditions.
Insulin Resistance (IR)
Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells are less sensitive to
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insulin, causing the pancreas to produce too much insulin, elevating blood insulin levels. Insulin is the hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the body. IR is commonly seen in easy keeper breeds, but other breeds can have it too. The typical IR horse is overweight and shows “fat pads” or regional adiposity. For the overweight-type IR horse, the focus should be on providing a nutrient-dense, low calorie feed, such as Triple Crown 30% Ration Balancer or Lite. A ration balancer feed provides all
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the vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids that are lacking from the horse’s forage, with very low calories and carbohydrates and a low feeding rate of 1-2 pounds per day. For an IR horse that’s the lean metabolic type, using a low-carb feed with calories sourced from fat and fiber is ideal, such as Triple Crown Low Starch, Senior or Senior Gold. In both cases, things to avoid include cereal grains like corn, oats and barley, as well as “sweet feeds” and high-carb feeds.
